The present disclosure relates generally to absorbent articles for absorbing and holding bodily fluids and, more particularly, to absorbent articles that contain gels that exhibit adhesive and/or absorbent properties. Furthermore, it has been found that gels that possess both adhesive and absorbent qualities may be incorporated into absorbent articles. In one embodiment, the present disclosure relates to an absorbent article, such as a panty-liner, sanitary napkin, or an incontinence article, having the skin-adhesive and absorbent gel composition applied thereon for directly adhering the article to the skin of a user/wearer and for absorbing bodily fluids.
Absorbent personal care articles intended to absorb discharged bodily fluids are well known in the art. Such absorbent articles generally comprise a fibrous mass or other absorbent core which can absorb and hold body fluids. Similarly, it is well known that feminine care articles have been employed to absorb and hold liquids, such as urine and/or menses. Conventionally, absorbent articles include a fluid impermeable back sheet, a fluid permeable top sheet and an absorbent core positioned between the back sheet and the top sheet. Prior absorbent articles have also included various other features to improve fluid handling, such as intake layers, distribution layers, retention layers and the like. In these absorbent personal care articles, the top sheet is the body-facing side of the absorbent article and the back sheet is the garment-facing side of the absorbent article.
Generally, the absorbent articles are held in place during use by using the wearer's waist and elastic materials in the waist portion of the absorbent product in place during use, in the case of pant-like garments, such as diapers and training pants, or by attaching the absorbent article to the underwear or undergarment of a wearer, in the case of pads or panty-liners. Current methods of attaching the absorbent article to the underwear or undergarment of a wearer include utilizing an adhesive placed on the garment-facing side of the back sheet and, optionally or alternatively, utilizing flaps (wings) that extend from the longitudinal sides of the absorbent article which wrap around the crotch portion of the underwear or undergarment of the wearer.
It has also been suggested to use an adhesive to adhere the absorbent article to the skin of the wearer as described in U.S. application Ser. No. 12/267,806, the contents of which are incorporated herein for all relevant and consistent purposes.
A need exists for absorbent articles that include materials that are multifunctional and, specifically, materials that provide both absorption and adhesion to the wearer. Such absorbent articles would be characterized by decreased complexity. Further, an absorbent material that also functions as an adhesive would move as the body moves allowing for superior leak protection during periods of increased activity or movement by the wearer. Such a material would also reduce gapping between the material and the body of the wearer thus increasing fluid intercept and reducing the potential for fluid leak.